Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Rating Increased to Peer Perform at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $116.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Westpark Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Qualys from $167.00 to $150.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Qualys presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.80.

Qualys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $149.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.75. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $206.35.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $153.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $150.74 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 40.24% and a net margin of 28.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Qualys will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 1,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.56, for a total transaction of $165,446.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 55,279 shares in the company, valued at $6,830,273.24. This represents a 2.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 634 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.19, for a total transaction of $77,468.46. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 85,942 shares in the company, valued at $10,501,252.98. This trade represents a 0.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $1,360,140. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Qualys by 294.7% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 225 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 149.0% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 239 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Qualys in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. DT Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Qualys in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Qualys by 53.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 639 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security.